Using group work to improve teaching and learning quality for the students in the communal police chief class at the People’s security college I

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES -o0o PHẠM THỊ THU NGÀ USING GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE TEACHING AND LEARNING QUALITY FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE COMMUNAL POLICE CHIEF CLASS AT THE PEOPLE’S SECURITY COLLEGE I Sử dụng phương pháp nhóm để nâng cao chất lượng dạy học học viên lớp trưởng công an xã, trường Cao đẳng an ninh nhân dân I M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Hanoi, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES -o0o PHẠM THỊ THU NGÀ USING GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE TEACHING AND LEARNING QUALITY FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE COMMUNAL POLICE CHIEF CLASS AT THE PEOPLE’S SECURITY COLLEGE I Sử dụng phương pháp nhóm để nâng cao chất lượng dạy học học viên lớp trưởng công an xã, trường Cao đẳng an ninh nhân dân I M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Supervisor : Dr Trầ n Thi Thu Hiền ̣ Hanoi, 2015 DECLARATION I certify that this minor thesis entitled: “Using group work to improve teaching and learning quality for the students in the Communal police chief class at the People’s Security College I” is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts is the result of my own work I have provided fully documented references to the work of others The material in this thesis has not been submitted for any other formal course of study January12th, 2015 Phạm Thị Thu Ngà i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis I want to thank the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of languages and international studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for giving me permission to commence this thesis I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Dr Tran Thi Thu Hien, whose stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all the time of research for and writing of this thesis I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, whose lectures and support have laid foundation for my thesis My colleagues from the Department of foreign languages and informatics at the PSCI and the students in the CPC class at the PSCI have greatly supported me in my research work I want to thank them for all their assistance, support, interest and valuable hints Especially, I would like to give my special thanks to my husband, my family and my friends who encourage me to complete this work ii ABSTRACT It is widely admitted that teaching English in the Communal Police Chief class has a lot of disadvantages over other classes at the People‟s Security College I such as: students in the class are very crowded They are different level The class lacks of material foundation However, teaching in a large multilevel class is a popular mode being used in most schools and universities in Vietnam There exist many constraints on effective English teaching in such environment When teaching as well as learning English in these classes, teachers and students have to face a lot of problems and difficulties Thus, to improve this situation, I applied group work for teaching and learning four skills for the students in the CPC class at the PSCI The paper then explores how to use group work of the teachers in the CPC classroom handle their lessons to attract attention of the learners On the basis of the brief analysis, a few suggestions, in the light of current education thinking to enhance classroom practice, are presented to see that skills teaching in the CPC class can be successful and students can develop their language skills iii List of abbreviations BE: Basic English CPC: Communal Police Chief DFLI: Department of Foreign Languages and Informatics ESP: English for specific purposes FPGS: Faculty of Post Graduate Studies PSCI: People‟s Security College I MA: Master of Arts VNU: Vietnam National University iv LIST OF TABLE Table 2.1: Students’improvement in English speaking (p.21) v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES v PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study Significance of the study Research question Method of the study Scope of the study Design of the study 10 PART B: DEVELOPMENT 11 CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 11 1.1 The role of group work in English language learning 11 1.1.1 Definition of group work 12 1.1.2 Advantages and disadvantages of group work 12 1.1.3 Types of group work 15 1.1.4 Group formation 16 1.2 How to organize group work activities effectively in the classroom 16 1.2.1 Common activities for group work 16 1.2.2 Principles to apply group work 17 1.2.3 Teacher’s role in group work 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 21 2.1 Action Research 21 2.1.1 Definition 21 2.1.2 Action research process 22 2.1.3 The rationale for choosing action research for this study 24 2.2 Context of the study 24 vi 2.2.1 People’s security college I 24 2.2.2 The English program and the teaching material .25 2.3 The students 25 CHAPTER 3: AN ACTION RESEARCH ON GROUP WORK AT PSC I 26 3.1 Problem identification 26 3.2 Preliminary investigation 26 3.3 Hypothesis formation 27 3.4 Intervention 27 3.5 Evaluation 27 3.6 Dissemination 33 3.6.1 Students’ benefits 33 3.6.2 Main issues that students confront in working in groups .34 3.7 Follow - up 34 PART C: CONCLUSION 35 Recapitulation 35 Concluding remarks 35 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 35 REFERENCES 37 APPENDICES I vii PART A: INTRODUCTION In this part, the rationale, the aims and objectives as well as the research questions and research design are presented The structure of the thesis is also presented briefly in this Part Rationale Nowadays, the importance of English cannot be denied or ignored The common trend of the world today is integrating and developing together As this global - trend expands, the need for a global language that is recognized and understood by people everywhere in common and security students at the People‟s Security College I Besides, English is also necessary for the co-operation with others countries Their security force‟s mission is not only to protect national security but also to contribute to the peace of our world especially, in the current East Sea situation English is considered as a compulsory subject in the school curriculum However, students in the CPC class at the PSCI still are not aware of the importance of and make no efforts in learning this international language Moreover, students must be both good at professional knowledge and proficient in English after graduation Therefore, innovating teaching method is essential and urgent While CPC students are very crowded It is not effective if applying the traditional method: Teachers present and explain, students listen and write down How to help students to improve their learning is a big question for all the teachers Therefore, the author chose the thesis: “Using group work to improve teaching and learning quality for the students in the CPC class at the PSCI” Teaching English as a foreign language by using group work has been proven by researchers at various levels; from basic to advance over the past twenty years Many authors both in the world and in Vietnam the research about group work that can be applied to facilitate and promote the process of learning English such as ZdeněkPola (2008) shows the ways to maintain discipline in group work activities in EFL classes at Liberci technical university, Mai Thi Hang Phuong (2008) believes that it is very important for the teachers to organize group work in a class at Pham Van Nghi upper secondary school, Nam Dinh province, Dang Thi Kim Oanh (2010) observes writing skill for 10th form non English majors at Phan Boi Chau specializing ... thesis entitled: ? ?Using group work to improve teaching and learning quality for the students in the Communal police chief class at the People’s Security College I? ?? is submitted in partial fulfillment... author chose the thesis: ? ?Using group work to improve teaching and learning quality for the students in the CPC class at the PSCI” Teaching English as a foreign language by using group work has been... on ? ?Using group work to improve teaching and learning quality for the students in the CPC class at the PSCI” I hope that my research will improve some extent English learning for students in the